homeless
Learning to Volunteer
Editor’s Note: * indicates names changed to ensure privacy. When I cam to FMS in November, I had very little previous experience in volunteering. It was a requirement in high school, but my football coach usually signed us off for moving tables, and I worked in a soup kitchen and food pantry once or twice,…
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A Shared World at Home
Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” I can still remember how nervous I was my first night hosting at Claremont Homeless Advocacy Program (CHAP); I laugh when I think about it now. I started volunteering at CHAP in preparation for formation with FMS in Washington, DC. CHAP…
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Getting Over ‘Otherness’
Program associate John Quense tells how he ended up teaching yoga every Wednesday at Miriam’s Studio, an art therapy program in Washington, DC. I find that God often draws me to Himself using very personal and uncomfortable methods. This particular encounter began in my bed (pretty comfortable) while I read about the conversion of St.…
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“This, my friends, is Ministry of Presence”
ME: I’m going to be Audrey Hepburn for Halloween. You know who she is, right? MAC: Nah, never heard of her. ME: Let me show you a picture. You’ll probably recognize her. SHOW HIM PIC. MAC: Nah, I don’t know who that is. Hady serving coffee to the men at Fr. McKenna Center I had…
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Friendship on the Street: Take Two
Missioner-in-training Valerie Ellis reflects on one of her experiences with those living on the streets of Washington, D.C. Yesterday, I met Brad.* When we first met, he thanked us for the food that we gave and asked if we would like to pray. He joined hands with us and we prayed the Our Father. Brad…
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Franciscan Friday: Building A More Human City
Domestic volunteer and program associate Chanda Ikachana continues our Hunger Action Month reflections by sharing her experiences of befriending those who are homeless in downtown D.C. Over the past few months, I’ve volunteered with the Sant’Egidio community on their Friday night food-runs, a ministry to the homeless in the Dupont area downtown. Last week, our…
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Friends on the Street
Missioner-in-training Valerie Ellis reflects on the need of those around us. I was thinking back to a time when I really needed a friend of mine to be present in my life. Because I really needed her, I was spending more time with her. It struck me that at times when I didn’t need her…
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Mission Monday: Friends from the Streets of Bolivia to the Seats of the United Nations
While abroad, our lay missioners are invited into the community to share in the local peoples’ lives, culture, and ministries. This leads to strong bonds, so missioners who are able stay in touch with the community and go back to visit. Lay missioner Ginny Dachenhausen on mission in Cochabamba, Bolivia from 2007 to 2010. Ginny…
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Alternative Spring Break with FMS: Advocating for a New Kind of Service Trip
University of Georgia students in an advocacy workshop with Russell Testa. Five days into their alternative spring break trip to D.C., college students from the University of Georgia ditched the work gloves for a clipboard and a stack of talking points. Franciscan Mission Service’s newly developed Short-Term Mission and Global Awareness Trips includes a spring…
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Franciscan Friday: Why do advocacy? What is our motivation?
For our last post as part of our Lenten series “Walking in Solidarity“, Russell Testa closes with a reflection on advocacy and our call to mend relationships with those “nailed to a cross” in today’s societies around the world.On Wednesday we reflected on the manner in which we do advocacy—the manner in which we call…
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Mission Monday: I Saw God in the Smile of Strangers
This week as part of our Lenten “Walking in Solidarity” series, we focus on practicing outreach and charity. This past Wednesday our Domestic Volunteer Sarah began her direct service work at Miriam’s Kitchen and she reflects on her first day for this Mission Monday post. I saw God in the smiles of strangers. It was…
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Mission Monday: Sharing in Christ’s Fellowship
During their training in D.C., our mission candidates take a morning each week to volunteer in the local community. For this Mission Monday, Annemarie Barrett shares what it’s like to work alongside Christ’s chosen company. Photo: www.fathermckennacenter.org Every Wednesday morning during formation, I visit the Father McKenna Center, a daytime drop-in center for men who…
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